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Mother-Daughter Team Up to Make Tracks in the Taxi Business

Mother-Daughter Team Up to Make Tracks in the Taxi Business
Kristine Hubbard has never driven a taxi cab herself, but she sure knows how to run a taxi cab business. Starting in the family business when she was only 16 and returning after college, Kristine has been in the family business now for 20 years, and loves every minute of it.

Beck Taxi

Beck Taxi was started by Kristine's grandfather, Jim Beck, in 1968. Her mother owns the company, and her father, brother and husband all work there too, but Kristine is the boss. As operations manager, she has 200 people reporting to her, and she also works the dispatch, directing taxis everywhere throughout Toronto. In fact, in 2014, she dispatched a total of 8.5 million rides.

Not afraid of competition

The company's biggest competition is Uber, a ride-sharing business that began in 2009 which allows consumers with smartphones to submit a trip request which is then routed to Uber drivers who use their own cars. Although Uber is spreading across North America and Europe, Beck Taxi remains the largest taxi brokerage not only in Toronto but in North America. They have more cabs than Yellow Cab in Chicago or Houston.

Hubbard admits the taxi industry is a male business, but she is no ordinary female. She has been called everything from determined to aggressive. “I know about the business and industry. I’ll get in there and fight,” she stated.

Read more by visiting www.thestar.com/news/insight/2015/09/20/beck-taxis-kristine-hubbard-the-woman-whos-taking-on-uber.html